Peacock First
Aid
These first aid tips are based on my own, Susan
Rowe's experience and from the wise mind of Mike Johns at
Rockn'Cedar in Oklahoma.
When a peacock appears listless, droopy, feathers
ruffled, won't or can't eat, and has a weird look, you know something
is not right and should take steps to help the bird, if possible.
Sometimes, with all you do, the bird perishes. Hopefully, we can
learn and prevent these problems in the future.
Here are some symptoms to look for and what I have
done:
* First thing: what color are the droppings? Yellowish
and much white mean WORMS/INTESTINAL PROBLEMS, which may be fixed
by Terramycin at the feed store (mixed in the water) and then
a course of worming.
The worms, according to Mike Johns, set up intestinal
and liver problems and lower the immunity of the bird , so that
secondary problems arise and the bird cannot digest food. People
use antibiotics to treat the symptoms and never get to
the cause, which continues to waste the bird. So, antibiotics
will appear to fix the problems, but a worming must follow to
really succeed. This is especially true of peafowl kept in cages.
It also helps to prevent diseases if the droppings are removed
periodically and the cage area and perches cleaned.
*STRESS, and/or temperature extremes should be treated
with Vitamins and Electrolytes for poultry, good to use in the
water weekly or whenever there is stress. We use it in the chicken
water quite often, because the chickens lay more. We mix it so
the water looks like weak lemonade.
Someone wrote me about a sick bird over the July 4th
weekend. I suggested getting Gatorade or Recharge since those
were available in a grocery store, and the bird stopped drooping
and got normal again!
*Fresh, clean WATER, with or without electrolytes
is essential. Smell the water in the container- if you
wouldn't want to drink it, why should they?
*GREENS may help to revive a stressed out bird- also
a good amount of fruits and vegetables help to keep them healthy.
My birds love sprouts, which are full of vitamins.
*ISOLATE the sick bird from others to keep disease
from spreading and the bird quiet. Many times other birds will
pick on the sick bird and stress it out further. Keeping the bird
out of drafts and warm in a clean and dry place is helpful also.
*Peacocks in the wild love to dig out pits (right
in my flowers, of course) and dust themselves in a glorious DUST
BATH. If the birds are cages, it is good to provide an area of
sand or loose dirt so they can dust happily and get rid of mites
and lice.
More to be added to this page as questions and solutions
arise...
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